So Far, So Great
by KellyTheLovatic
Summary: Set 65 years later, Sonny flips through a scrapbook she's had since her first day on So Random. She reminisces about her life, her friends, and Chad, including my favorite moments from the show and a few a made up and a lot of CHANNY! One-shot


**So Far So Great**

**Sonny's POV**

I gingerly leafed through pages worn by time. Pages of a book filled with memories. A scrapbook I had kept since my first day on So Random.

Now, sixty-five years later, I was packing. Boxes, some sealed and some open, built walls around me. My husband and I were moving to a retirement community. We had grown old together, just like I had dreamed when I was a girl.

I opened to the first page. A very young me smiled in a bee costume.

_"Siss boom buzz. Siss boom buzz. Siss boom buzzy buzzy. Siss boom buzz." I grinned at the audience. My audience, cheering for my first sketch. My dreams were finally coming true. True, it was rough with Tawni. More like she hated me. But I know I can get here to like me…everyone likes me…right?_

I turned to the next page…Loser Force Five. What a day that was…

_My friends – and Tawni – had come for me. Chad was just using me to break the Random family apart, even though he unknowingly brought us closer. Sure, he'd been sweet. Way sweet. And I couldn't help but crush on him. But it was complicated. Why did he have to be such a jerk sometimes? Why did there have to be that stupid rivalry? Why?_

My lips pulled upward into a grin at the memory. Chad was always doing sweet things, even when we were "enemies." Like when he pretended to be Eric for me…

_"Looks like somebody cares," I suggested._

_"Somebody wanted to try on a weird beard," he argued._

_"Cares."_

_"Beards."_

_"Cares."_

_"Beards."_

_"Beards."_

_"Cares," he accidentally said. I grinned, pleased with my victory._

My veiny hands rubbed the picture, creating small oil smears. A fan had posted it online, and I had it printed so I could put it in my book. I had cropped it so it showed only me and Chad. Underneath, I had written, "Cares" just to rub it in Chad's face whenever we pulled out the book. Which we often did when we cuddled by the fireplace. I know what you're thinking: why have a fireplace when you live in Malibu? Well, some nights it gets really cold. Plus, we had the house built specifically for us, and I told Chad that fireplaces were romantic. I remain the only one to get Chad to do what I want. Hehe. I like having that power over him, but it's not like I abuse the power...much.

I lightly ran my fingers over the next page. It was a picture from Chad's birthday party all those years ago when Lucy had visited from Wisconsin. And I thought he cared about me...

_"Oh my gosh! What happened to you? Are you ok?" he exclaimed._

_I sighed, "Not really." Of course, he was talking to the cut-out of himself._

Years later, while we were cloud watching, he told me that I was the only one he actually wanted at the party, and he only made security throw me out to keep his image. Like I said - way sweet.

I skipped ahead a few pages that didn't have pictures, just random words I had written when I started the book.

The next page had a picture of our fake date. Apparently some fan had taken a picture of our fake kiss...

_"That was some kiss," Chad smirked._

_"What do you mean? That kiss was fake."_

_"Was not!" Chad said, flabbergasted._

_"Chad," I explained, "I put my hand over your mouth."_

_He shrugged. "That would explain why your lips tasted like skeeball and air hockey."_

_"Do you really think I would kiss you?"_

_"Well, that's what I'm gonna put in my blog!" Chad bragged._

_Since when does Chad have a blog? Whatever. It was really sweet of him to come on the date with me, even if it was fake._

I had other pictures of Chad's sweet moments. Like the secret prom when we had shared my only dance. I bit my lip, trying not to cry.

_Chad walked over to me. I gasped, totally surprised. "Chad? What are you still doing here? I thought you'd be the first to go."_

_"Which exactly why I had to be the last to go," he explained. It made sense in a weird way._

_I sighed. "Well, Chad, you were right. All proms end in disaster."_

_"Do they Sonny? Do they really? Because I heard that sometimes you get to have that perfect dance with that one special person. You're just gonna have to settle for me," he pulled out his head phones. We began slow dancing, and it was way sweet. But, of course, he forgot to press play. Which kinda ruined it, but with all the fireworks going off in my head, it was still a perfect dance._

For some reason, I had forgotten about the book for a few months, so the next page was the first time Chad guest-starred on So Random. He was kissing a pig, and I was beaming. "Ew," I said aloud, "I'm married to a man who kissed a pig."

He constantly complained that kissing a pig ruined his image. Bad boy makes out with swine? Not a good thing to be known for. Not good for his image at all.

For a long time, Chad had only cared about his image. How he looked. And I thought that would never change.

But he had ditched that on our second first date...

_"Oh my gosh," I gasped. "Chad is a fool for Sonny?"_

_"I wanted the world to know. And I want you to know that I want to be seen with you, anytime, anywhere, no matter how," he searched for the right word, "goofy your big brown eyes make me."_

_I smiled. "I don't know what to say."_

_"How about yes?" he asked._

_"To what?"_

_"To giving our first date a second chance."_

_And then, of course, my mom had to ruin it. "Just say yes already!"_

_We laughed. "Yes," I said decidedly._

_"Shall we?" he held out his arm._

_"We shall." We walked out to the roof by the billboard._

_"Wow, this is the coolest second-first date I have ever been on."_

_"Well, I'm glad you like it," Chad grabbed my hand._

_"But it's not perfect yet," I sighed._

_"It's not perfect? What do you mean it's not perfect?"_

_"Well, the stars are out, which is great, and the view is amazing, which is nice, and you're here, which makes me happy. I don't know. Something's just missing."_

_"What is it? What's missing? Oh no!" Chad freaked, grabbing his glass._

_"Ok, relax. Easy on the water. I just thought if you're not afraid of how the world sees you, then I shouldn't be afraid of how my friends see me," I smiled._

Next to the picture of our date, I had taped the magazine cover from our first date. You know, the picture of Chad throwing up on me. I had written in capital letters, "EASY ON THE WATER" and a smiley face. He hated that page, but I loved it.

I turned through the next pages gingerly, tears threatening to escape. These pages hurt the most.

The picture my mom took of Chad and me right before we left for the Tween Choice Awards. I had put the picture in the scrapbook that night, before he asked for the recount.

Despite my best efforts, a single salty tear managed to fall, just a little circle of water on the page.

The next page wasn't a sad one, but rather a painful page of goodbyes and memories. Marshall had Tawni, Nico, Grady, and Zora write letters to me when I left So Random to work on my music career.

_It was my last time in the Prop House. "Wow, guys, I'm gonna miss you so much!" _

_They enveloped me in a group hug._

_"I'll miss you, Sonny. Can I call you for special talk time?" Grady begged, obviously fighting tears. _

_I smiled and nodded, giving Grady a squeeze._

_"And, um, do you think you could be my wing man...wing woman? Since it didn't work out with Penelope," Nico asked._

_I glanced at Tawni, who was filing her nails. "You'll be fine without me, Nico." Somehow, neither of them caught what I was hinting at._

_Zora squeezed me. "I'll miss you so much, Sonny. No one will be here to Sonny it up anymore." _

_I laughed. "Thanks, Z. I'll miss you, too!"_

_Nico and Grady went back to video games and Zora went back into the vents. Tawni, however, remained._

_"Well, Sonny," Tawni walked over to me. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'll miss you. And, thanks."_

_"For what?"_

_"For...everything. Mostly, for giving me a chance. You're the best friend I've ever had." She began openly crying, and I hugged her._

_"Tawn, you can still call me when I'm on tour, and we can skype every week!"_

_"Every DAY, Sonny!" Tawni sobbed._

_Just then, Marshall walked in. "Well, Sonny, it looks like you've said your goodbyes. Are you ready to go?"_

_I nodded once, biting my lip to stop the tears that were insanely close to falling._

_Marshall grabbed my suitcase. "Let's go."_

_We walked out of the Prop House, but I said, "Go on without me, Marshall," and turned and quickly ran back in. "Goodbye," I waved to my cast - my family - and then left. I'm not one to cry in front of people. As I walked to catch up with Marshall, I ran into the only person that I hadn't said farewell to yet - the three-named jerkthrob who broke my heart. _

_Chad opened his mouth to say something, but he changed his mind, quickly grabbing my face and kissing me. One...two...three...four seconds. He pulled away, eyes clouded with worry and hope. "Tell me you didn't feel anything," he breathed._

_I gulped. "Chad, I...I'm leaving."_

_"Tell me that you didn't feel those sparks," he pleaded._

_"I..I can't."_

_His face fell. "Are you sure?"_

_"I...I...no. I can't do this, Chad. I just can't."_

_"What do you mean, 'you can't'?"_

_"I can't be with you, Chad!" I sighed angrily, running all the way to the taxi to take me to the airport and sobbing uncontrollably._

_Marshall, who was sitting in the taxi with me, attempted to comfort me. Even though he never had any kids of his own, he really was like a father to all of us. "Sonny, I know you're going to miss So Random, but-"_

_"That's not it, Marshall," I cut him off._

_"Then it's about...?" he looked at me quizzically._

_"Chad," I spat his name and it left a bitter taste in my mouth._

_"You know, Sonny," Marshall said gently, "I've seen a lot of couples in my lifetime, but you and Chad...you're two peas in a pod. I've never met two people better suited for each other."_

_"What are you saying...that I should give him another chance?"_

_"I'm saying that you know, deep down inside, what to do about him."_

_We rode in silence till we reached LAX, and then Marshall helped me with my bags. I boarded the plane and was about to turn off my phone when I received two messages: one from Tawni and one from Chad. I opened the one from Tawni. It was just a picture of her doing the hand heart. I smiled, biting my lip to keep my tears from falling. I quickly replied with a picture of myself doing the same. Then I turned my phone off and headed to New York._

_When I finally landed (LA to NYC is a long flight!), I turned my phone back on. I still only had one message, and that was the one from Chad. After much internal deliberation, I read the message._

_It wasn't a picture. It wasn't even words. Just three numbers. 143. Though no one had touched a pager in years, the meaning of the message still held: I love you._

The next page was a magazine article...

_My first real show. At twenty years old, I was headlining my own tour, which opened in none other than New York City. My band was already on stage and I ran out, ready to perform. I grabbed the microphone off the stand and nodded to my guitarist to begin playing. Except it wasn't Mike...it was Chad. He still started playing "Me, Myself, and Time" and the crowd went wild, so I sang the song. _

_As the last chord faded, Chad (who was 21 at this point) put down the six-string and walked up to me. He held another microphone in one hand, close to his face, and grabbed my hand with his other hand. _

_"Sonny, please," he begged, "I never stopped loving you. I flew all the way from LA to be here - "_

_"Chad, please don't."_

_"Sonshine, please, just hear me out. Afterwards, you can tell me to leave you alone, and, as much as it will pain me, I will. Please."_

_"Fine," I complied._

_He took a deep breath. "Sonny, you are the only one I've ever loved. You made me a better person. I know I've made mistakes, but I can't go on without you. I _need _you, Sonny." He stopped and looked at me in anticipation._

_"I don't know what to say," I said, utterly confused._

_"How about yes?"_

_"To what?" Now I was completely confused._

_He got down on one knee and pulled out a blue Tiffany box. "Allison Elizabeth Munroe, would you do me the other of becoming my wife?"_

_I gasped, taken aback. Someone in the audience called out, "Just say yes already!"_

_"Umm...deja vu." I sighed, "Chad, get up."_

_He, tears brimming in the corners of his deep blue eyes, reluctantly stood. He began walking back stage, but I called out to him, "Chad, I didn't say no."_

_He turned back, and I saw a single tear that already escaped. "So...is that a yes?" he wondered aloud._

_"Chad, I do love you, dearly, but - "_

_"Great. There's always a but."_

_"But I'm not ready to get married yet." _

_"We don't have to get married right now. We can wait years, even. You are the only one I want, and I don't care how long we wait, as long as you're mine. Please, say yes."_

_"Even if we don't get married for ten years?"_

_"Even if we don't get married for ten millenniums! I love you, Sonny, so much more than you can imagine. Just promise me that, one day, you will marry me. So I ask again, Sonny Munroe, will you marry me?"_

_I grinned bigger than the Cheshire cat. "Of course I will, silly!" I ran forward and kissed him while the crowd cheered. He broke away and slipped a ring on my finger - a small silver band with a medium-sized diamond, surrounded by little diamonds._

_"I would've gotten a bigger diamond, but I knew you wouldn't like it too showy," he explained, happy tears flowed down his cheeks._

_"It's perfect."_

_He grabbed my waist, picked me up, and spun me around, his lips on mine the whole time._

_Then Mike came out to play and Chad waited in the wings for me._

_I walked over to center stage and screamed into the mic, "Guess what? I'M GETTING MARRIED!"_

_All I could think was, What a way to start my tour - getting engaged! _

The magazine article was the first interview we did together after that night. My eyes scanned each quote as memories of happiness and excitement flooded back.

I had been so busy with my music and with Chad that the next page was our wedding picture.

_"Wow, Sonny, Cooper is a lucky man," Zora, a bridesmaid, commented._

_"Zora, I'm gonna be Cooper in a few hours, so you need to start calling him Chad."_

_"What do _you _call him, Sonny?"_

_I laughed. "So many things! Usually just Chad or Chaddy."_

_Zora grimaced. "I can't call him Chaddy. That's just plain wrong."_

_I smiled. "Well, of course it is, you aren't marrying him! I am!" I took a deep breath and tried to keep from smiling (and failing miserably). "I'm going to be Sonny Cooper. How do I look?"_

_"You look gorgeous," Tawni, the maid of honor, admired._

_"Really?" I asked._

_"Absolutely."_

_I turned and faced her. "Thanks, Tawn."_

_Lucy, the other bridesmaid, squealed for the millionth time, "I cannot believe that my best friend is marrying _the _Chad Dylan Cooper!"_

_"Luce, calm down! We've been engaged for five years!" I sighed. "We've been engaged for five whole years. It feels like just yesterday he proposed!"_

_Marshall walked me down the aisle and soon, Chad and I were at the altar, saying our vows. "I, Alison Elizabeth Munroe, take you, Chad Dylan Cooper, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."_

_He smiled at me. "And I, Chad Dylan Cooper, take you, Alison Elizabeth Munroe, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."_

_The pastor grinned at us. "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."_

_Chad kissed me. It was short, yet sweet and slow._

_Before we walked back down the aisle together, he whispered in my ear, "I love you, Sonny Cooper."_

The picture was in order of left to right, Zora, Lucy, Tawni, me, Chad, Nico, Grady, and Chad's brother, Jacob. That was the night that Nico finally asked Tawni out. They ended up getting married two years later.

The next page was a picture of Chad and a rather pregnant me. It was taken on Tawni and Nico's wedding day (about two years after I married Chad). That night, I fell in love with him all over again...

_"Chad? Are you awake?" I whispered._

_"Apparently," he murmured. "What's wrong? Do you need to go to the hospital?"_

_"No, I just can't sleep, so I didn't want you to either."_

_"That's why you woke me up?"_

_"Yeah. Are you mad at me?"_

_"Sonshine, I could never be mad at you," he scooted closer to me, wrapping his arms around me. "You're going to be a great mom, you know that?"_

_"And you're going to be a great dad." I finally fell asleep in his embrace._

Just one month later on June 12, Chad and I welcomed our daughter, Jessica Dylan Cooper, into the world.

_"She has your eyes, Sonshine," Chad told me as I laid in the hospital bed. "I didn't think anyone could have bigger or browner eyes than you, but little Jessica here does."_

_I smiled, holding out my arms to hold her. "Hi, Jessica," I cooed. "Mommy and Daddy love you so much."_

_She grabbed my finger, her lips curling into a smile. I gasped because she had Chad's dimples, just like I knew she would. "Chad! Look! She's beautiful!"_

_He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "Almost as beautiful as you," Chad whispered._

_I'm sure I blushed eighty shades of red. "I love you," I sighed contently. _

_"I love you, too,_ _Sonshine." _

I flipped through the next few pages and I heard the familiar rattle of Chad's pickup truck, followed a door slam.

Chad waltzed through the front door and saw me sitting on the couch with the book. "Reminiscing?" he said, sitting next to me and kissing my cheek.

"Just a tad," I sighed.

"Are you all done packing?"

"Just about. This is the last of it," I nodded to the book.

"I can't believe we're finally moving to a retirement community. It seems like just yesterday I was stealing your yogurt."

"Chad, that was yesterday! We went to Yoyo Land and you ate like two-thirds of my yogurt!"

"Oh yeah...but doesn't the greatest actor of our generation deserve your yogurt?" Chad smirked.

"No!" I playfully nudged his arm. "You're lucky I love you so much."

Instead of nudging me back, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I know I am."

I sighed contently, gently leaning into him. "So Chad, how's your packing going? So far, so good?"

"I'm done. And you're here with me. Just like I imagined all those years ago. So far, so great."


End file.
